Herb of the Month: Meadowsweet

The vanilla-almond scent of meadowsweet fills the air this month and her creamy white, frothy flowers polka-dot fields and hedgerows. Known also as Queen of the Meadow, she is a majestic sight, a balm for the eyes and the spirit and medicine for the body. Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmari, is a member of our beloved rose (roseacea) botanical family and grows heartily alongside her cousins blackberry, blackthorn, hawthorn and wild rose.

Meadowsweet For Healing

Meadowsweet is known, too, as Spirea for her flowery spires and this name is a Latin derivative for the word aspirin. She contains a natural occurring constituent called salicylic acid which is an active ingredient in aspirin. Meadowsweet has been used for hundreds (thousands!) of years to ease a headache or toothache, for general aches and pains and as a treatment for colds and fevers. Meadowsweet soothes both acute and chronic acidic condition in the stomach and eases nausea. She has astringent properties so is lovely to tone the skin and heal spots and blemishes.

Make a Meadowsweet Tea

Make a tea with the flowering tops: fresh plant (1 TBSP fresh herb to 8 oz water off the boil) or dried plant (1 tsp dried herb to 8 oz water off the boil).

Now is the time to harvest and dry her for your home apothecary. Harvest the flowering tops when the flower is fully opened and about 1/3 of the top of the plant. The red stem and leaves have therapeutic properties as well. Bundle the herb together and hang upside down in a dry location. The scent of meadowsweet is said to gladden the heart and it will bring you memories of long summer days.

Because of the salicylic acid properties, a meadowsweet infusion (strong tea) makes a fabulous face spritzer/ mister tonic, especially to heal spots and blemishes, although it is lovely for all skin types to tighten and brighten the skin. The smell is divine and there is nothing like a fresh cosmetic you make yourself!

Meadowsweet Facial Spritzer Tonic Recipe

1 cup of water, freshly boiled

4 TBSP fresh meadowsweet or 1 TBSP dried meadowsweet

Optional: 25 drops of lavender OR tea tree essential oil

Optional: 1 TBSP rose or lavender hydrosol

Make an extra strong tea and steep, covered, for 2 or 3 hours. Remove the herb and bottle for use. The tonic can be applied via a cotton wool although I prefer misting it lightly directly onto the skin. If you add the essential oils or hydrosols it will extend the shelf life of the facial spritzer tonic to about a month. Otherwise, use within a couple of weeks.

Children from all around County Galway have been visiting the Garden for our Spring school workshops. They are planting seeds in the polytunnel, searching for the signs of spring in the Celtic Gardens and making bird nests in the woodlands.

Brigit’s Garden is looking for facilitators to work through both the Irish and English language as part of our experienced and enthusiastic Education Team. Brigit’s Garden offers a range of high-quality, inspirational and educational workshops for all ages. This role would involve working mainly with primary school students but may also include working with secondary schools and summer camps.

It has been a long winter and your home has held you well. Now, as the days warm, you are inclined to open the windows wider and invite in the freshness of renewal. Now is the time to clear away and make room for what will grow in your own life this season. Spring is the perfect time to cleanse your personal space to eliminate old energies and make way for the fresh and the new, to give love and intention to your beloved house and home.

Brigit was a herbalist and used wild herbs to nourish and heal body and spirit. Many of her plants grow in our gardens, hedgerows and meadows, providing wild and free medicine that has been used for thousands of years.

This year the Winter Solstice falls on 21st December and marks the shortest day of the year. Solstice means ‘sun-stop’, and for three days around the solstice the sun appears to rise and set at the same point, moving in a low arc through the sky and casting the longest shadow of the year on our Calendar Sundial.

More than just a flavour for your pasta sauce, thyme is a robust herb available almost year around, offering many healing properties. Be sure to continue to add thyme to your soups, stews and sauces, as food is medicine! Thyme has wonderful properties to keep our bodies healthy during the cold, cough and flu season.

The vanilla-almond scent of meadowsweet fills the air this month and her creamy white, frothy flowers polka-dot fields and hedgerows. Known also as Queen of the Meadow, she is a majestic sight, a balm for the eyes and the spirit and medicine for the body.

Sunrise Children’s Festival at Brigit’s Garden is back for 2017 and have just announced their full line-up across four stages, showcasing the best in children’s entertainment with live music, theatre, magicians, puppeteers and much more.

Getting here by bus

If you don't have transport, you can catch the CityLink bus towards Clifden. It leaves from the CityLink bus station next to the railway station, and you get a return ticket to Roscahill. Ask the bus driver to stop in Roscahill, and from the main road it's a 15-20 minute walk. If you ring ahead, we may be able to collect you from the bus stop during less-busy times. Although not always possible, we will try our best to help out with a lift! Click here for Citylink schedules.

Accommodation

Need a place to stay? Check out our accommodation page for a list of hotels, B&B's, hostels, and guesthouses in and around Galway and Connemara.

Car Hire

Rather drive yourself to experience the West of Ireland? Budget Car Hire has locations at these airports: Dublin, Galway, Knock, and Shannon, as well as throughout the country.

Children from all around County Galway have been visiting the Garden for our Spring school workshops. They are planting seeds in the polytunnel, searching for the signs of spring in the Celtic Gardens and making bird nests in the woodlands.

Brigit’s Garden is looking for facilitators to work through both the Irish and English language as part of our experienced and enthusiastic Education Team. Brigit’s Garden offers a range of high-quality, inspirational and educational workshops for all ages. This role would involve working mainly with primary school students but may also include working with secondary schools and summer camps.

It has been a long winter and your home has held you well. Now, as the days warm, you are inclined to open the windows wider and invite in the freshness of renewal. Now is the time to clear away and make room for what will grow in your own life this season. Spring is the perfect time to cleanse your personal space to eliminate old energies and make way for the fresh and the new, to give love and intention to your beloved house and home.

Brigit was a herbalist and used wild herbs to nourish and heal body and spirit. Many of her plants grow in our gardens, hedgerows and meadows, providing wild and free medicine that has been used for thousands of years.